A/N: Reviews always help.
Edit: This isn't really an update, but its a picture I drew and Kori-lin colored for this fic. Enjoy!
http://www.deviantart.com/view/18130660/
Chapter beta'd by Patty
Collide
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Prologue
The morning was brighter than usual, the sunlight nearly blinding him as he drew the white gossamer curtains aside. He glanced over to the wailing alarm clock before slamming it into silence. Still disoriented with sleep, he forced his body to a stand, and tried to fix the untidy covers, but gave up when he found it to be too much of a task. He placed his bear nightcap under the night lamp before making his way clumsily across the bare floor and into the bathroom.
He leaned onto the vinyl sink, examining the dark purple bags surrounding his blue eyes, and turned the faucet on. His hands cupped the running fluid and splashed the cooling water onto his bedridden face. Peeking out at the clock once again, he quickly rubbed his face dry, and cut the running faucet off. Naruto gave his reflection one last hard look before peeking out from the corner of his bathroom, cussing out loud when he discovered he was running late and hastily fumbled to put his school uniform on.
At about seven, he stepped out of his apartment doorway, with loose shoulder strap slung carelessly over his shoulders and dashed to the bus stop.
Maybe it was time he learned how to wake up at the right time?
The stop was crowded with students from both his school as well as others rushing to get to work, bodies clustered together on the small curb, trying to avoid the on-coming traffic flowing back and forth. He sidestepped onto the concrete curve, tipping onto the edge of his toes to peep over the heads of everyone else in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the bus. Hadn’t he made it a goal to be the first one to school?
Numerous scents filled his nose, from the heavy perfume of the schoolgirls to the strong odor of coffee, removing the last of his sleep from his mind.
A few minutes later, a bus came to a screeching stop, opening its doors and allowing the waiting company admission. Naruto fumbled through his messy backpack, searching for loose change. He deposited the necessary amount of money, lost in the troubling thought of being financially unstable and chose the closest seat to the door. Naruto shifted whenever a person came in danger of making contact with him. Sitting down and gazing outside as the bus came to motion once again, his eyes caught onto a familiar figure cycling on his bicycle.
Startled when the other boy fell into stride with the slow moving bus, Naruto jerked back and cursed his horrible luck. Leaning forward in his seat, Naruto glanced over to the other passengers and caught sight of a familiar face. The girl waved at him shyly before falling back into conversation with her friends.
Naruto sighed and sagged into the seat once more as more people occupied the previously empty space. He glimpsed down at his white shirt, taking note of the slight stain on it. Had it been almost a week since he had done his laundry? If anything, the stench was certainly offending to the human nose. His slacks were wrinkled due to his refusal to iron it, making him look even shoddier then humanly possible. Naruto ran a hand through his hair, while gazing at the poor reflection provided by the bus mirror.
Only when the bus came to a full stop did he move, dashing to class as the school bell rang loudly when the minute hand struck seven-twenty. He slumped heavily against the wall, trying to regain his runaway breath.
“You’re late…” A cold voice announced in front of him, as though it couldn’t be anymore obvious.
Naruto froze in his steps, praying to his ancestors that it wasn’t him.
“I don’t need your help to tell me that.” Naruto muttered under his breath. A pale hand grabbed onto his own just as he made a move to push the homeroom door open, sparking a flare of anger inside of him. Naruto was slammed hard into the wall, catching him completely by surprise. After his getting the wind back into his body, his eyes narrowed before struggling to shove Sasuke away from him so he could make a break for it.
It was still too early for this, and certainly much too early in the school year to start on the wrong foot. “Let go of me, Uchiha.”
His blue eyes widened when he no longer found himself in front of the raven-haired boy, the painful grip on his left arm only leaving a red mark. Naruto groaned out loud, knowing well that the only person who could hear any noise he made was himself. It had been too late to jerk away when he felt his body suddenly become insubstantial, and the firm grip on his arm was no longer there.
There was a long pause as everything he felt moved ahead of him, faces of people he knew hurrying by him at a frightening pace. He closed his eyes tightly to block the sudden rush of moving sickness that hit him.
And then it stopped.
Naruto eased his eyes open, relaxing when he found that Sasuke was no longer standing in front of him. He turned to look back and up the hallway, and noticed that it was empty; the weak lights were humming above him in complete silence. Darkness had replaced the bright sunlight, which had once saturated through the glass windows. Naruto went to open the window in front of him, and found that it was as dark outside as it was inside of the school building. He squinted his eyes through the obscurity to find a large crowd stationed in front of the courtyard beside the tracks.
Closing his eyes, and raked his brain for the answer as to what was happening. He decided that it would have taken less time to figure out the answer once he got there, and pulled the window aside. He was on ground level so it wasn’t that much of a challenge. Jumping out awkwardly, Naruto missed his footing and collapsed into the bushes. Wincing as the pain lanced through his body, he got to his feet carefully only to find the side of his shirt caught onto a twig. He wrenched it away brusquely, tearing the delicate fabric from his sleeve.
“Damnit,” He hissed out loud, and picked himself up. It was nighttime…and people were out in the schoolyard? He walked through the crowd, searching for a familiar face amongst them. He had hoped for it to be quick like usual, but it appeared as though it wasn’t going to be like that this time around.
The voices increased in magnitude as he drew closer and closer. Naruto strolled through his classmates, no longer in their school uniform. Curiosity got the better of him so he pushed on in sight of an answer as to what was happening.
It wasn’t long until someone called him out from the swarm.
“Naruto-kun?” A shy voice brought him out of his concentration. He looked over at the speaker, and the girl he had seen at the bus stop stood in front of him. Naruto stopped walking, and waited for her to catch up to him. She coughed lightly, a finger came up to intertwine with the short purple looks of her hair. Her pale eyes were anywhere but on him. He waited for her to speak.
“I was wondering if you would…like..umm…with me…the school festival…that is..”
Whatever that ‘is’ was, Naruto never found out. “Listen, can you tell me whatever it is later, Hinata? I have to go and do something right now. I promise I’ll listen to what you have to say later.” He excused himself, feeling pathetic for making up such a half-lie.
Finding the main event wasn’t hard, but it was the task of getting through that provided to be difficult. Strings of light hung loosely over the stage and decked thoughtfully on the edge of the chairs. They were more for decorative purposes, he noted. The seats were packed, leaving many without a place to stand either. He pushed himself through the pack, stopping as he bumped into another familiar face. Keeping his distance from them, Naruto watched his crush chatter animatedly with another female classmate.
Sakura stood beside another blonde girl, Ino, he guessed. Naruto perked up, listening closely to the conversation exchanged between the two girls.
“I can’t believe you wrote that,” Ino commented.
“I didn’t,” Sakura whispered hoarsely, as though it strained for her to speak. Her slender fingers traced the line of her pale throat before falling away completely. “It went well though.”
Ino rubbed her throbbing temple in a sign of exhaustion, “Let’s hope this never happens to you again. I mean this might lessen your chance of beating Sasuke-kun. Not that you ever really had any chance before hand.”
“I don’t know.” Was that a question?
“Naruto?”
Naruto sucked in his breath as Sakura beckoned him to her, his heart racing madly, hoping that his future self hadn’t done anything idiotic as to tick her off. However, her face remained indifferent. Only when he was right in front of her, did he discover that she was doing her very best to keep the façade from falling away.
“Uh…yeah?” He mentally berated himself for being such a nervous wreck. She was sure to tease him now.
“Awesome job,” She said throatily, lightly patting him on the shoulder before withdrawing her hand quickly.
Complete astonishment coursed through him, not only had she complimented him, but she had touched him as well. His fingers lingered at the collar of his shirt, the calm warmth still glowing from the spot.
“Thanks,” He smiled wistfully, not clearly understanding what she had praised him for, but grateful all the same.
“Let’s go Sakura. Sasuke-kun’s performance should be starting right now.” Ino called out to her, yanking the pink-haired girl’s hand as a sign of discomfort, probably because of him.
Sakura waved at him, a small smile on her pretty face before rushing after Ino. Naruto shook his head, more than baffled by the events so far. Everything was…somehow out of place. Was the future really going to be this different for him? But he wasn’t going to question that because, after all, Sakura was no longer ignoring him.
That didn’t stop the constant nagging as he continued his way through the packed seats. A few heads turned in his direction, their hushed words following him. His shoulders tightened, fists clenched from the sudden attention he was receiving. He wanted, right then, to run away but knew that that would do him little good.
All noise ceased when the lights dimmed, and a loud applause announced the arrival of a new performer. Naruto pushed himself to the tip of his toes, listening patiently to what everyone had been so excited to see.
~When it rains it pours and opens doors
And floods the floors we thought would always keep us safe and dry
And in the midst of sailing ships we sink our lips into the ones we love
That have to say goodbye~
A clear voice resonated soothingly, a single piano played harmoniously beneath his singing. The lighting was dim, mainly focused on the performer on stage. One look at who it was and Naruto felt distaste grow upon him, prompting him to take back his earlier thought of him having a calming voice. Furious screams of approval erupted from around his rival. Well, at least it wasn’t something he didn’t want to see, not to say that he enjoyed sitting through it.
Naruto searched the vast crowd, and seated himself on the ground after finding it nearly impossible to find a seat.
Why everyone liked the bastard’s music, Naruto himself would never understand. He could probably write better melodies then half of the spew Sasuke was crooning on and on about. Man…how long could Sasuke go on?
At one point after Sasuke had entered the second verse, a sudden flicker in the lights ahead of the other boy immediately caught his attention. Another second passed and he quickly knew that something was going to happen. Abruptly, to his alarm as well as those in front of him, the light beams exploded and crashed onto the grand piano with a sickening thud. Fear rushed through his veins but he remained rooted to the spot.
All around them, people jumped up from their seats and ran to the injured lead singer as he watched silently, not knowing how to react to such a situation. Making a mad sprint onto the stage was entirely out of the question.
Several people sprinted passed him, making a mad dash on stage. Slowly the scene faded away when pink tresses passed him and hurried to Sasuke’s side.
“Sasuke-kun!”
As suddenly as everything had happened, the world faded with a blend of colors.
“Not if you’re going to speak to me like that.” Sasuke whispered, intensifying his grip when the other gave him a glare that could’ve burnt holes through the solid wall. The suddenly sullen clothes upon the blonde’s body did not go unnoticed by Sasuke.
Naruto broke away from his reverie and gave Sasuke a hard glare; sweat pouring down his temple as he attempted to still his harsh breathing. He frowned when he noticed the close proximity between him and the other boy.
“Please let go of me…Sas’ke-kun,” He pleaded, voice leaking with sarcasm as he punctuated each syllable of Sasuke’s name. Silence settled in between them, leaving him a slight bit uneasy. He bit onto his lip gently, bringing up his other free hand to shove at Sasuke. “Come on, class president. We don’t want you to be late now or anything.”
Sasuke reluctantly dragged a hand up his torn sleeve before releasing him completely, challenge flashing in his dark eyes. “I’ll see you again…dobe.” He muttered before entering the room, leaving a slightly confused Naruto in his wake.
Naruto blinked to wash away the events before stepping inside. All conversations subsided as he entered the classroom, taking one step at a time in the awkward silence, which had engulfed them. Same old…same old.
Glancing over to his left, he saw a pair of emerald eyes stare at him before quickly averting away to feint interest at the blank chalkboard. Naruto bit the inside of his mouth, holding back the urge to frantically wave at her as he once had before. He had been hoping that she would’ve been willing to share her seat with them since the tables were capable of holding two. The look of confusion on his face hadn’t gone unaware when another classmate promptly scooted over to offer him a seat next to him.
“Thanks, man!” Nara Shikamaru shrugged offhandedly before glancing back out of the windows, watching the clouds take on various shapes.
“Raise.” Naruto turned to see Sasuke stand up impassively as the classroom door snapped open and a man, their teacher, he supposed, entered. “Bow.”
The chairs clanked as the students stood and bowed in respect to their teacher. Naruto was the last one to rise and the first to sit when told so. He peered at the clock absently, noting that their new teacher was even later than he was. “You may all sit now.”
“I’ve already taken role, Hatake-sensei. I’ve left it on your desk.” Sasuke remarked calmly, before returning to his seat. Naruto watched the boy move slowly, rolled his eyes immaturely at Sasuke’s awkwardness and rested his head onto the cold surface of the wooden desk.
“From now on, all of you will call me Kakashi-sensei.”
How exciting it was for him already.
He rushed to the line, and was glad to find that he was the only one there along side with the few who were quick enough to snatch the first bread. Kakashi had held him back and reprimanded him for showing up late to class. Of course, he couldn’t have kept his big mouth shut, choosing to comment upon the fact that Kakashi-sensei was even later than he was. That earned him a week’s worth of detention, cleaning duty with Iruka-sensei.
It was bad enough having a run-in with Sasuke, and now a week with the guitar teacher.
“You’re late, today.”
Naruto turned to the recognizable voice, and scooted over. Shikamaru joined him shortly, thanking him for the offered space. All around them, the students began to filter from their classes and into the increasing lunch lines.
“Are you going to that thing next weekend?”
“You mean the one with Sasuke-kun? Well, I plan on actually competing against him, Ino-pig.”
Shikamaru watched the girls chat animatedly upon the subject of both the concert and their beloved Sasuke-kun, while Naruto chose to scowl absentmindedly as he reached over to take the offered the bread. It wasn’t any fresh news to him that Naruto had a sore spot for Sasuke. While their daily scuffles back in their junior high days had lessened to some degree, there was still an unsettling tension whenever they came face to face.
“How troublesome,” Shikamaru said, more out of habit than anything else.
Naruto came around the corner and strolled through the lunch tables; pushing aside people who were brave enough to stand in his way. Shikamaru trailed behind, waiting for the explosion that was sure to arrive. From what he had seen earlier, Naruto had not exactly entered the classroom with a smile etched on his face.
“Tell me about it! It’s like all that exist in this world is Uchiha Sasuke-sama!” Naruto spat, gripping his food so hard that it crumbled. He snarled in frustration and flung it into a trashcan at the end of the register after paying for it.
“You spoke to him?”
Naruto snorted immaturely, “I wish I didn’t. It’s like he didn’t have his daily dose of coffee this morning.”
“Giving you the same usual shit?” Shikamaru asked him. He broke off half of his bread and handed it to Naruto, who snatched it without a second thought. Shikamaru had expected the blonde to reside his problems to him.
He gave the blonde an exhausted look, not wanting to speak more than was necessary upon his part. Of course it would only be a matter of time until Naruto would begin to ramble on about how unfair life was. It had become habitual for him to be the listener. He took a swig of his water bottle and waited patiently.
The two made their way to a secluded table, shared with Chouji and Shino, two other classmates whom Naruto met through Shikamaru. He wasn’t about to go so far as to call them friends, more like companions.
Speedily shoving the bread into his mouth, Naruto thanked Shikamaru and rushed off.
“Where are you going?”
Naruto waved back at the group, “Rooftop. See you guys later.”
Silence followed as Shikamaru returned to his friends.
“What?”
Chouji shrugged, and turned back to his food.
As soon as he was out of sight, Naruto slowed to a jog and then finally stopped altogether at the foot of the spiraling stairway. He slowly stretched his tired limbs as he ascended the staircases to the rooftop of the school. His gentle footsteps echoed through the empty passage. Lunchtime was probably the best part of the school day. Hell, it’s probably the best part of the day in general. While it was nice to share lunch with Shikamaru, there were times when he sought solace in solitude.
The door swung open with a loud groan, the cool breeze graced his face, waking him up fully. Naruto ruffled his golden hair, succeeding in making it even more bed-ridden than usual.
Naruto leaned onto the metal fence, his fingers crawling up the creaks slowly until they rested in front of his face. Underneath him, the students flocked out in packs. Naruto sighed, turned his back to the people below and fell to a crouching position.
Maybe he could just leisurely show up at the concert and warn Sasuke about what could possibly happen? He shook his ahead absently at the idea. As it was, people already knew there was something slightly off about him. No need to escalate the rumor.
Of all the people that he could’ve ran into, it had to be Sasuke…of course touching anyone would probably cause just as much trouble for him. Naruto clicked his tongue, cursing his dumb luck.
His eyes drifted over the floor, noticing a bright piece of yellow paper a short distance away from his hand. Naruto picked the paper up and studied it with distaste. He read over it once more out loud, keeping in mind that the concert was to be in another week.
Goddamn Sasuke.
He just couldn’t get away, could he?
It was always like this, since he could remember. This curse that he had been blessed with. A nuisance more so than anything else, which had created a rift between him and everyone that he knew.
Unlike everyone else who walked blindly not knowing their future, he was unjustly forced to witness countless of events, none of his choosing. With the simplest touch, he was able to see what would happen. It had turned him into a freak, made him something that was different from the people around him.
But he had promised himself that he no longer wanted to play the role of a hero, saving those who were ungrateful.
Glancing at the neon flyer once more, Naruto tipped his head onto the fence and gave a doubtful look at the inanimate paper. He crumbled the paper, pulled his arm back to throw the flyer into flight, and breathed heavily before standing up once more to make his way back to class.
Just as he made to leave, a piercing crank resonated through the air, causing his skin to shiver at the dissonant sound. So instead of returning to class, he turned back to peer at where the sound had come from. He scuttled back to the fence, and pressed his face hard against the linings.
Narrowing his eyes, Naruto caught sight of an open window along with the west side of the schoolyard. He looked over at the main clock, and rushed off, hoping that he wouldn’t be late for the next class.
Ringing notes vibrated throughout the lonely white hallways decked in sunlight, leading him to the person he had avidly avoided earlier that morning. There were breaks in the melody whenever a wrong note was played, which he noted with disinterest, were quite few and far between.
Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, Naruto slid the door open and was moderately shocked to find Sasuke hunched over the piano keys. Now it would have been a smart idea to step out of the classroom and return to his everyday life once more. But there was hardly a rational part in his life to begin with.
Naruto closed the door behind him, and sat down silently, taking note that either Sasuke had not realized that someone had entered the room or he was doing a really good job of ignoring him. He chose to pick the latter.
When the quietness finally got to him, Naruto asked a question.
“What are you playing?”
Sasuke gave him a sign of acknowledgement, if it could even be called that before returning his attention back onto the sheet of paper in front of him. Naruto growled loudly at the back of his throat, and then stood up to make his way through the empty desks.
“Are you going to talk to me or what bastard?”
Sasuke left the question unanswered as he continued to feign ignorance to the blonde now standing directly in front of him, regarding him with anger.
Scowling, Naruto slammed his fist on the white keys, a determined look on his face, fighting back every urge to tear the piece of music in front of Sasuke. The sound of his heavy breathing followed in wake of the unpleasant tone cluster he had created. He clutched his fists tightly and pulled them back to his side. 'Don't let him get to you...you just have to tell him, right?'
Eventually, Sasuke stilled his hands to a stop, gathered his sheet music and turned to Naruto.
“It wouldn’t hurt you to respond, you know.” Naruto muttered faintly.
“It hurts to listen to you talk.” An insult was at the tip of his tongue when Sasuke spoke again, "What do you want, dobe? I have to practice for a recital today."
Naruto cursed beneath his breath, knowing that the other boy wasn’t about to make this any easier for him. Deep inside, he wanted nothing more than to be as far away as possible from Sasuke. Perhaps jealousy had a hand to play in it, not that he would ever openly admit to envying Sasuke.
“Don’t go to that concert next week,” Naruto blurted out, the words pouring out catching Sasuke off-guard. “Something bad is going to happen to you so just stay home and practice until the next one comes along. I mean you’re good right? You don’t need to compete in this one or anything.”
Well that was said and done.
Sasuke’s face remained blank, waiting for the blonde to catch his breath before continuing. “Are you done?”
A moment of silence settled comfortably over them, Naruto slowly nodded. He sighed tiredly, and turned his back to Sasuke. “You could just listen to me, you know.” Naruto’s deafening voice had settled down, his blue eyes wandering to the sole of his feet. “It would save you a load of trouble…not to count the trouble I could get myself out of.”
“Listen to me this time? I won’t bother you again,” Naruto promised as an afterthought.
Sasuke raised a brow, and stood up from the piano stool, hands bracing his weight on the wooden edge. “And how would you know something is going to happen to me?”
Naruto froze at the question, stumbling for an answer, “Well, you know I’ve been hearing about how there was going to be a plan to sabotage you while you’re on stage. As a matter of fact, Shikamaru just told me about it before I came here. So maybe you could just lay it off for a while or something? I mean with your talents, you could probably win any other contest! Seriously, Sasuke…”
“You’re rambling, usuratonkachi.” Naruto shut his mouth, his heart beating quickly for another way out of his current situation. It wouldn’t make well for him if he just opened his mouth and say ‘Well, that’s because I can see the future so why don’t you just shut up and do as I say, prick.’
“You know that’s not the answer.”
Another period of silence fell over them, and Naruto could have sworn that everything in existence must have died. Shifting his weight onto his forearms, Naruto leaned heavily onto the piano. His expression became placid when he answered.
“It isn’t any of your business.”
Irritation finally got the better of him. “This isn’t a game and no, I will not tell you how I know, okay? When I tell you these things, you should just listen to me and do as I say. Stop acting like a prick for once in your life. It’s not hard, you know? Just about everyone in this school seems to be fine living without a stick shoved up their ass.”
Sasuke rolled his eyes with waning patience, took a deep breath before answering. “Will you just shut up for a second? “
If it were possible to turn any redder, Naruto would have died from the immediate blood rush to his head.
“I will not shut up!” Naruto snapped, grabbing the cuff of Sasuke’s white shirt roughly, forcing their eyes to lock. “You should just keep your nose out of my business, Uchiha!”
“Why don’t you stay out of mine?”
As he opened to reply, an elbow smashed into his chest, upsetting his balance and knocking him solidly onto the timber surface of the piano. Grabbing onto the first thing that his hands latched onto, Naruto held on tightly, bringing Sasuke along with him. He gasped in pain as his hips rammed onto the edge, along with the added pressure of Sasuke on top of him. His mind shook violently from the sudden force of the collision.
After gaining some semblance of speech, Naruto opened his eyes and glared darkly up at Sasuke. How did the situation turn ugly? Instantly, his body tensed when he realized that Sasuke was not going to get off of him, and struggled but soon found that the exertion was fruitless to begin with. Sasuke was heavier, taller, and added to the advantage of him currently being in the dominant position, Naruto focused instead on trying to buck Sasuke off. However, a small corner of his mind flooded with relief, as everything in the present remained intact, though it was not revealed through his flushed face.
“What the fuck is your problem?” His words lacked the force portrayed through his crassness. He had wanted to resolve the issue with as little violence as possible, but Sasuke was making that nearly impossible. Managing to pull one arm from underneath, he reached up to gather the black locks and jerked on them sharply. “Get off of me right now!”
Sasuke pulled his head up, but made no move to get off of Naruto. His arm caught the loose limb, while the other trapped the span of Naruto’s chest. Naruto winced audibly when Sasuke’s grip on his free hand constricted threateningly.
“When will you grow up and realize that you’re not hiding anything from me?” The squirming underneath him instantly stopped. Naruto stared up perplexed at the meaning of his words. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”
His mouth grew dry, his heart raced madly as he tried to feint bemusement. Naruto looked away to the blackboard, silently praying that Sasuke would get off of him. It felt surreal to be under Sasuke, with his warm breath hitting the side of his cheek, sending tremors of fear through his body.
“Naruto…” Sasuke leaned in, so close that he could see every individual black eyelash embellishing the dark eyes. Those eyes held all secrets and yet revealed none whatsoever. “Tell me.”
Naruto wrenched his hand away and attempted to punch the handsome face. Anticipating the blow, Sasuke caught the arm with quick practiced reflexes. The blonde gave him a look of absolute detestation. However, Sasuke’s face showed no signs of reprisal. He gave the blonde a deep thoughtful look and backed up without another word.
Naruto felt Sasuke’s piercing gaze upon him, and for a moment wondered if the other boy was going to question his choice to remain silent. He heard the school bell ring, followed by the sound of the sliding door coming to a close.
The tension remained thick in the air long after Sasuke had left him on top of the piano, blue eyes still fixated on the ceiling.
“Fuck.”